Friday, October 03, 2008

Marc Quinn's Golden Fetish

Marc Quinn’s golden sculpture of Kate Moss has finally been made public at the British Museum as part of its Statuefilia exhibition. As expected, Quinn’s statue of Moss is in a similar pose as his bronze sculpture of the British model titled Sphinx. Apparently the golden version of Kate Moss was to be titled Siren, but has been renamed Aphrodite. According to the museum the piece is the largest gold sculpture to be made since the days of ancient Egypt. Quinn created the sculpture with over two millions dollars worth of gold. It has been suggested that the piece will earn six times that once sold.

As I’ve mentioned before… I’m not exactly impressed with art that meshes with celebrity. Marc Quinn and Daniel Edwards take top prize for that as far as I’m concerned. Will Damien Hirst be able to top Quinn's golden Moss? Perhaps Andres Serrano will sculpt Kate Moss or another celebrity in his own little way? That might actually be interesting.

7 comments:

Hey, its a great investment. When inflation kicks in and gold prices soar, you can always melt it down and make huge a profit, with absolutely no guilt about destroyng a work of art.

Its a winlosewin situation. win if gold prices keep on going up, lose as the age of post modernism is dead, and wont be able to unload any of it soon. Win as some crazed over oil enriched sultan, emir or russian mobster would love to have a white girl presented in an appropriate pose for their minds, and built of the gold they so crave.

Or maybe it will go to Paris placed between its previous gilded age artiste anceestors, Gerome and Messionier. It is a milestone in sociology, along with Hirsts pickled creatures. And Nero's harp.

Learn something new everday, even if often useless. Reading the interview with Paddy, first didnt know she was a she, second that I was a Troll. Interesting.

Your site will be a favorite of hers soon, expecially if the club ideas based on artistic genetics takes hold. What happened to the modern tag you had, comes and goes. Had three artists I was interested in, but dont have their names. Would be good if artists could use no more than three tags, one prefeerrably, and kept to a definite definition. Art lacks those now. That way one could find the wheat through the chaff, in whatever category one is looking for.

Sorry about that, the Troll in me ai guess. Better than being a gargoyle or faerie I guess. Ooops!

So what concerns you the most about the direction that the art world has been on? Is the press representing the true direction of the art world by featuring stories about Quinn, Hirst, Serrano, and the like? Thoughts?

No, this stuff is entertainment for the rich, and these fools their court jesters. Handsomely paid at that. So much so taht Hirst jsut became one of them. This is jsut a small sliver of what shows in art galleries, but museums like the Whitney jump on them like a dog in heat. Their "benefactors" are the rich, ones bored and in dire need of stimulation, decadent as that has become

Most arts are either decoration as in fine arts for the regular rich, and professional class. Therapy for many who love to do the gallery rounds and in the "scene". Though they love to gossip about things like Hirsts. And lower level gamers who do want to be like Hirst some day, but will bitch about him mostly, thnking they are far smarter and more erudite.

But looking around, there is an almsot complete and total disconnect fromm life. Yes, there are the local photographers and grandma stuff and niceties for the present day bourgeousie, yuppies. But is all about the individual, the Me of the artist, and trying to find the same lack of connection to the immensity of life in a patron. Who is also consumed by thier own tiny sliver of the universe.

Which is why art is so dull now, it cam be brigh, moving, noisy, whatever, but all the same. It asks the same level of similar low lying questions about life. No ambitions except to BE an artist, not to BE the best, and wanting to produce work that rivals the greats of the past, so focus on the hacks of now. Medicority as taught in art schools is easily achieveable, and how they sustain their existence. True talent takes decades of hard work, hard questions, surrounding oneself with only the best, til one can develop what Hemingway called an automatic shit dectector. No time for lower level stuff, one must attempt to produce the same level of passion and layering of meaning and realationships of those who came before, but adding to our culture.

This has been completely ignored. The press knows nothing of it, as they follow the leads of the academies, museums, and galleries. And why 99.9% of humanity doesnt give a damn about the arts outside of what one can pick up at a poster shop. Better works there often as one can get Miros and Matisse and Anselm Adams for cheap, why waste tiome and energy on the fluff thats out there now?

So yes, when stories like this come along, people are amazed, and rather repulsed. So dont care about art at all, why should they? Nothing in it for them, its the artists having an interior monologue, not a conversation with life. Most would rather go to the movies or shop for clothes. Those are often better anyway, though Hollwyod doesnt have a great batting average either. I figure 5-10 a year I would bother to see, most on cable, no rush. Thats 2-3% winners. And people becoming bored with video games and such. People need to start getting back to tending their gardens. Their minds and souls, their bodies and work. thier lovers and friends. The Food Channel is now huge because of that.

Art needs to get back to its original purpose, from the very beginnings of time. Defining us as a people, and god, the sense of eternity and purpose the people must pursue to survive. Nothing else matters. And art has shown itself to be lacking, and as such, has mirrored life. But only the shallowness of it, not the richness that has always been here. Decadence is over, time to get to work.

this piece is just about everything reprehensible about todays art in london. beautiful woman that is known for putting it about shown with her legs open in gold, wow how challenging!! I think i'd almost prefer it if they made it a porn spread shot type pose, more honest somehow